Unbeknownst to Lin Jin, several hours earlier, Yang Jie’s pet beast, the white peacock, managed to achieve Rank 4 before Xiao Huo at the Friar Association.
This incident startled the entire Maple City.
It was because when the white peacock evolved, a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky. Pure white light enveloped the entire Maple City so everyone who was there knew something must have happened.
The first to be awed were the members of the Friar Association.
Ye Yuzhou was gone when the other mentors had an emergency gathering outside of Yang Jie’s seclusion room.
A Rank 4 pet beast was a huge deal even for the Jade Dragon Kingdom, much less Maple City.
“Why is Mr. Yuzhou absent during such a crucial moment?” one of the mentors asked.
“I heard he has been summoned by the City Lord Manor for urgent business. Who knew that it would be Mr. Yuzhou’s prized disciple who achieves Rank 4 before the others. With this, Yang Jie’s status will undoubtedly soar ever higher,” someone commented.
The other mentors nodded in agreement.
With Yang Jie’s pet beast being at Rank 4, his status had already surpassed the other mentors. Apart from that, the young man would probably be officialized by the Jade Dragon Kingdom as one of their nation’s guardians, bestowing upon him the title of ‘knight’. He would also receive a standard salary and a consistent supply of spirit stones. All in all, the benefits were great.
The group of mentors was envious of Yang Jie.
Still, they were curious as to how Yang Jie managed to help his pet beast evolve. Someone attributed this success to Ye Yuzhou, but those who knew the older man were aware that Ye Yuzhou wasn’t adept in the study of pet beasts.
It was then that Yang Jie led his now Rank 4 white peacock out of the room. The pride on his face was visible.
He now acted with even less courtesy to the other mentors compared to before. After all, he was already stronger than them where pet beasts were concerned.
Sure enough, the City Lord Manor dispatched a messenger immediately after news of the evolution reached him, inviting Yang Jie to meet the city lord in person.
This was a huge honor.
After Yang Jie left, the Friar Association remained in a state of awe.
The discussions mostly involved Yang Jie, of course, and the upcoming disciple’s tournament.
“There had been rumors about Lin Jin wanting to challenge Senior Yang Jie in the disciple’s tournament. But now it looks like there won’t be much of competition after all.”
“That’s right. Senior Yang Jie’s pet beast is already a Rank 4. I’m pretty sure he can just stand back and allow his pet beast to easily overpower the opponent. Poor Senior Lin Jin, if his opponent wasn’t Senior Yang Jie, he might just stand a chance at number one.”
Chen Cheng was surprised and elated after hearing this news.
He never thought Yang Jie would actually promote his pet beast up to Rank 4.
Frankly speaking, Chen Cheng was jealous of Yang Jie’s success. This evolution meant that he would never catch up to Yang Jie. But he was thrilled because one thing was for certain, that Lin Jin was destined to lose in the disciple’s tournament.
Ye Yuzhou returned.
But instead of going back to the Friar Association, he went directly to the City Lord Manor.
He had to personally report to Bai Zhenkong about the possible conflict with Snake Country, or else the city lord might get frightened out of his wits.
At the City Lord Manor, he was surprised to run into Yang Jie.
Yang Jie still had to greet his teacher at sight, but of course, his attitude had obviously changed. The reason was simple. Both their pet beasts were on the same rank now.
Ye Yuzhou was just as shocked to find out that Yang Jie’s pet beast managed to break through to Rank 4. But it wasn’t long before a frown appeared on his face.
Yang Jie’s pet beast couldn’t possibly have evolved under regular circumstances. Unless he had a miraculous encounter.
And a significant one at that.
Glancing at the white peacock, Ye Yuzhou’s suspicion was confirmed. The white peacock still emitted a strong medicinal aura. Even if Ye Yuzhou wasn’t well-versed in pharmacology, he could still recognize that the white peacock only evolved after consuming a powerful pill.
However, the beast’s aura was unstable and erratic, which made it less impressive for a Rank 4.
Ye Yuzhou was mildly annoyed.
Because he felt that Yang Jie was keeping many things from him. Where did Yang Jie obtain the pill that helped the white peacock evolve? Why didn’t he mention it? Did he just get it out of nowhere? That was impossible. For the past several months, Yang Jie had never gone on any trips. In other words, what Ye Yuzhou inferred was that his own disciple did not have much faith in himself as he had originally assumed.
However, it was still good news that his disciple’s pet beast evolved. Ye Yuzhou didn’t display his dissatisfaction but instead praised Yang Jie.
And yet, what Yang Jie said next baffled Ye Yuzhou.
“Teacher, now that my pet beast has achieved Rank 4, how does it fare against Lin Jin’s?” Yang Jie suddenly asked.
Yang Jie was evidently disturbed by that warning Ye Yuzhou gave him about not provoking Lin Jin.
Hence, following the evolution, Yang Jie couldn’t resist asking the question again just so he could prove that he was stronger than Lin Jin. He wanted to prove to Ye Yuzhou that his previous warning was made on irrational grounds.
Although he didn’t say this outright, that was basically the gist of his words.
Ye Yuzhou could hear the dissatisfaction in Yang Jie’s tone. He sighed before answering, “Yang Jie, you’re my disciple so you know that whatever I do, I have your best interests in mind. I asked you not to provoke Lin Jin because I have my reasons. But now that you’ve asked, I’ll tell you again, do not provoke Lin Jin. Even if your pet beast is Rank 4, you still can’t afford to provoke him.”
One could tell that Ye Yuzhou was giving sincere advice because he didn’t want Yang Jie to suffer needlessly.
Ye Yuzhou knew that Lin Jin had an incredibly terrifying person backing him up. If Yang Jie insisted on making things hard for Lin Jin, refusing to recognize his place, Yang Jie would be the one suffering in the end.
Since the young man was his student, Ye Yuzhou obviously had to restrict and teach his students to prevent them from making unnecessary mistakes.
However, Ye Yuzhou’s advice simply turned Yang Jie’s expression sour.
Ye Yuzhou may be a well-respected mentor with a knack for teaching, but he was evidently lacking in many other aspects. For example, how he overlooked Yang Jie’s arrogant personality.
How could Yang Jie, who had always been prideful, accept this warning?
He felt as if he was being severely underestimated. To make things worse, it was coming from his own teacher. Yang Jie clenched his fists tight until his knuckles popped.
When his pet beast was only Rank 3, Yang Jie had to accept Ye Yuzhou’s advice. But now that he had helped his pet beast evolve up to Rank 4, there was nothing to stop Yang Jie from turning away from his mentor.
He would never accept it.
Although he didn’t say anything else, Yang Jie swore to himself that he would never forgive Lin Jin.
Just then, city lord, Bai Zhenkong arrived.
“Mr. Yuzhou is truly our Maple City’s most prized mentor. Credit where it is due, I am impressed by the fact that you’ve raised such a promising disciple.” Bai Zhenkong was delighted.
A unique aspect of the Jade Dragon Kingdom was having a city-state system. Although they were all under the rule of the nation’s emperor, each city’s lord was bound by patrimonialism.
In other words, if a city lord didn’t make any inexcusable mistakes during his reign, his position was hereditary.
As every state was allowed its own government, if a city had an expert, the city lord would have authority over this individual. This translated to great honor and an increase in strength for the city. Prior to this, Ye Yuzhou was the only person with a Rank 4 pet beast, and now with an additional candidate, how could Bai Zhenkong not be pleased?
With his, Maple City’s status within the Jade Dragon Kingdom would also increase.
Ye Yuzhou smiled and said nothing.
After all, Yang Jie’s pet beast’s evolution was not attributable to him. Ye Yuzhou didn’t ask for the specifics earlier either. His top priority now was to tell Bai Zhenkong about their current diplomatic turmoil with Snake Country.
Just then, Zuo Wentang came in and whispered something into Bai Zhenkong’s ear.
The ear-to-ear smile that was on Bai Zhenkong’s face earlier had now faded away.
